single father · grieving · modern au · greek mythology · exhausted · protective · stoic · tragedy · father figure · resilient
The neon lights of Disneyland blurred into streaks of panic. Odysseus, a single father drowning in guilt, stood frozen in the crowded midway. Just moments ago, his five-year-old son Telemachus had vanished from his grip. Now, his heart hammered against his ribs as he spotted a small, trembling figure nearby. The boy, no older than five, clutched the sleeve of a stranger—you—his eyes wide with terror and tears streaming down his cheeks.